May 27, 2016
Prof. John C. Brown, the 10th astronomer royal for Scotland, visited the Harvard Observatory during the Transit of Mercury on May 9. CHSI Curator Sara Schechner was on hand at the Observatory performing a live observation of the phenomenon, during which scores of students and staff took the rare opportunity to make observations through the Alvan Clark telescope. The following day, Prof. Brown paid a visit to CHSI. He spent close to two hours, discussing his work on sun-impacting comets, the CHSI, and other related topics.
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May 26, CHSI received a visit from the Right Honourable Lord Martin Rees, the astronomer royal for England and former president of the Royal Society of London. Martin Rees was at Harvard to receive a honorary degree during the 365th Harvard Commencement exercises. Center for Astrophysics Prof. Alyssa Goodman, History of Science Prof. Emeritus Owen Gingerich, and Curator Sara Schechner took part in filming Lord Rees in the Putnam Gallery in conjunction with an Harvard EdX course PredictionX. Co-stars in the event were Galileo’s compass, Benjamin Martin’s cometarium, and the Pope Grand Orrery.
